Efficiency and environment finally aligned thanks to new product

This entry was posted on 21st June 2016 by Kilfrost News.

The formal launch of an innovative first-of-its-kind low viscosity fluid is set to dramatically and positively impact on both the environmental profile and the performance efficiencies of heat pump installations.

Kilfrost, the global experts in frost protection chemistry and rheology, developed their new Kilfrost GEO® fluid after an industry-wide Ground Sourced Heat Pump Association (GSHPA) meeting where serious concerns about the toxicity, efficiency and application of some standard thermal transfer fluids were expressed.

“We approached the GSHPA after the meeting and offered to turn the problem over to our team of R&D chemists” explained John Westerman, Sales Manager for Kilfrost. “Existing thermal transfer fluids provided a stark choice – toxicity and efficiency, or safety and inefficiency. And the fact that mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) and ethanol based fluids are being used extensively is evidence that commerciality won out in many cases.”

“Of course there are huge potential implications from an environmental perspective and I know that the Environment Agency (EA) has been watching closely, but they can only act in the event of a spill, and not when toxic materials are put into the ground in the first place” he explained.

Kilfrost’s renowned research team set to work on developing and testing a low viscosity alternative and the result, just formally launched, was Kilfrost GEO®. High efficiency, boasting a good environmental profile, minimal physical hazards, and excellent system protection, it is the first advanced heat transfer fluid engineered specifically for closed loop ground source heat pumps.

Free from nitrates, nitrites, borates, phosphates and other heavy metals, it outperforms MEG, MPG, Bio-PDO and ethanol-based heat transfer fluids, while also leading to lower system pressure drops and lower pumping costs. It protects against scaling and corrosion, is classified as non-hazardous according to CLP/REACH, and if used in Ground Heat Exchangers compliant with MIS 3005 designs created by Dr Robin Curtis of GeoScience, has the potential to significantly improve performance. The fluid also offers an excellent solution as a retrofit or replacement for poor performing products.

“We are delighted that such an exciting product has come out of the process of our developing a new standard for the benefit of the industry as a whole” explained Nic Wincott, CEO Ground Sourced Heat Pump Association (GSHPA). “We were eager to focus on reducing the risk of serious pollution but without creating further inefficiencies by insisting on the use of higher viscosity – if less toxic – alternatives. Kilfrost should be lauded for having invested in the development of a fluid which carries so many benefits, and none of the previous risks” he added.

Kilfrost is a third-generation owned and managed family company, recognised as the global leader in safety critical frost protection chemistry and rheology. Working across the industrial and aviation sectors, Kilfrost maintains a proud focus on pioneering the next generation of products to raise industry standards, and to meet the growing needs of its commercial clients and the wider community.

Legal Pages

Customer Information

Newsletter Signup

Email Address

Interest Groups

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Kilfrost Ltd:

Email

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails.

We use MailChimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to MailChimp for processing. Learn more about MailChimp's privacy practices here.